Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, played a significant part in mythology. In her role as the patron deity of love, she assisted both human and divine lovers. Indeed, Aphrodite was involved with bringing together one of the most famous couples in Greek myth - Paris and Helen. However, the goddess of love appears also to have enjoyed her work on a more personal level. She indulged in many affairs herself with mortals and immortals alike. And the relationships of Aphrodite are, not surprisingly, popular subjects in myth and legend. The list that follows includes some of the loves of Aphrodite.

Adonis | Aphrodite could not resist the charms of handsome Adonis - but the couple's relationship had a tragic ending

Anchises | according to mythology, Zeus made Aphrodite fall in love with the mortal Anchises; the result of this union was the birth of the hero Aeneas

Ares | the passionate affair between Ares (the god of war) and Aphrodite (the goddess of love) was legendary in Greek myth and literature

Dionysos | what happens when Dionysos, the frenzied god of wine, has a fling with Aphrodite, the fertile goddess of love? - a child (Priapus) is conceived

Hephaistos | although the god Hephaistos was Aphrodite's husband in Greek myth, the marriage was not a successful union (the numerous affairs of Aphrodite are but one indication of this fact)

Hermes | the Olympian god Hermes concocted a clever scheme in order to demand Aphrodite's amorous attentions, and in the end Aphrodite gave birth to Hermaphroditus